What am I looking at please?

It looks like a cultivar of the Dawn Redwood to me.

I'm gonna guess Bald Cypress. Hard to tell for sure on photo but I believe the needles are alternating. Dawn Redwood's needles are opposite.

Yea, it is hard to tell if they are alternate or just somewhat whorled, but a close up of the branch hanging down and in focus does look like the needles are alternate. I think you are right.

Cypress

Agree with Wallee

Bald Cypress appears to match. I keep seeing these in parks and along streets in the Chicago area and they are magnificent when mature. Thanks for the help on this.

Just curious, do you guys just know your trees or are you better at using Google than I am? A little of both I'd guess?

Do it yourself home landscaping and the biology classes I took 40 years ago.

I've been self educating myself on trees and plants lately. I still know very little. I was kind of surprised that I remembered something I learned.

There is a lot of knowledge on this bulletinboard on just about any topic you could throw out there, including plants. I agree with those who have provided the ID as Bald Cypress. I ran out just now to get a few photos before a thunderstorm hits the area. This is a Bald Cypress on the central campus where I work and shows the tree, leaves, and cones.







Some of the guys who answered are in the "plant biz". Walllee owns a garden center, Ray (rtallent) is a biologist at a midwestern university, and I am at a different (better) midwestern university and know a little bit about plants.

“There’s an app for that.” And I have found it to be enormously useful:

PlantSnap

Heh heh, Botany Guy! At least in terms of football, Saturday will tell....
Just another note on bald-cypress: it is a good choice for periodically saturated/ flooded areas, and there are plenty of those around here...

rtallent: "Heh heh, Botany Guy! At least in terms of football, Saturday will tell....
Just another note on bald-cypress: it is a good choice for periodically saturated/ flooded areas, and there are plenty of those around here...
"

I thought that would get a rise out of you before the big game on Saturday. Good luck to the Hawkeyes! (But better luck to the Cyclones!)